Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Role Of Environmental Stressors Experienced During Childhood In The Development Of Dissociative Identity Disorder, Jazmin Conway

PCOM Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research was to determine how environmental stressors that occur during the early childhood years can lead to the development of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and diagnosis in the adult years. Over the years, childhood trauma has become increasingly prevalent worldwide and despite this increase, continues to remain a significantly unaddressed public health issue (Beilharz et al., 2020). The trauma experienced can include physical, sexual, emotional, and either physical or emotional neglect from a caregiver (Beilharz et al., 2020). Over the years, DID has been the center of controversy in the field of psychology. There have been …

Medicinal Cannabis (Thc Vs. Cbd): Effects On Anxiety, Ptsd, And Epilepsy, Olivia Grace Griswold

PCOM Capstone Projects

As of November 4th, 2020, thirty-six states and four territories (District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands) have approved a measure that regulates cannabis for medicinal use (Markle & Nativio, 2019). In particular, Pennsylvania law allows residents with twenty-three different medical conditions to apply for an ID card that will enable them to purchase medical marijuana from dispensaries. Some of the medical conditions included are anxiety disorders, autism, epilepsy, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As more states approve marijuana for medicinal use, researchers continue to investigate the interaction between medicinal cannabis and the endocannabinoid system.

The cannabis …

Vitamin Deficiency And Depression, Maddison Jeffries

PCOM Capstone Projects

Depression, or major depressive disorder, has affected how people think, feel, and behave. As well as psychological problems, depression has also been a comorbid factor in other emotional and physiological disorders. The actual cause of depression is unknown. Researchers have worked to understand the connections and conditions a person may experience for depression to develop. One commonly researched path to depression is vitamin deficiency. A variety of vitamins like B6, B12, folate, and vitamin D have been linked extensively to depression as a possible cause. A continuation of research expands into how a deficiency of these vitamins causes depression. Low …

The Neuroplasticity Of Depression: How Antidepressants And Cognitive Behavior Therapy (Cbt) Can Reverse Depression, Vahid Harbi

PCOM Capstone Projects

Depression is a complex disorder influenced by biological, psychological, and environmental factors (Santarelli et al., 2016). Depression is one of the most common forms of mental illness worldwide (WHO, 2021), yet the pathogenesis of depression and the mechanism of how antidepressants reverse depression remain unclear (Liu et al., 2017). The symptoms of depression are evident to most individuals, but the symptoms’ persistent nature remains a mystery to most. The four primary regions of the brain involved in depression are the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC), hippocampus, amygdala, and Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) (Hayley et al., 2013). This review presents the prevailing literature …

Neurological And Psychological Effects Of Covid-19 On Cognitive Impairment, Saba Mufti

PCOM Capstone Projects

Increasing evidence suggests that individuals affected with COVID-19 may be at high risk for developing long-term neurological consequences (Heneka et al., 2020). Psychological stress may also increase risk in cognitive impairment, which can lead to mental fatigue. However, research studies suggest that there is a relationship between physiological and psychological factors affecting cognitive function (Scott et al., 2015). The mechanistic understanding of neurological symptoms in patients affected with COVID-19 regarding whether they emerge from mental illness or directly from the invasion of SARS-CoV-2 into the central nervous system is limited (Mahammedi et al., 2020). Factors affecting the brain can lead …

Sars-Cov-2 Infection’S Link To Behavior: A Review Of Coronaviruses And The Potential For Sars-Cov-2 To Damage The Brain’S Structure And Function, Grace Anne Wilgucki

PCOM Capstone Projects

Human Coronaviruses were discovered in the 1960s and were found to be a cause of the common cold, inducing mild symptoms on those infected (Santacroce et al., 2020). However, due to adaptation and co-evolution, more dangerous variations of Coronaviruses emerged in the early 2000s, causing severe infection of the respiratory tract (Ye et al., 2020). Notably, the outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) were devastating, as these HCoVs could inflict respiratory disease that can be fatal (Wong et al., 2016). Most recently, the emergence of a new strain of Human Coronavirus has taken …

Exploring Downstream Effects Of Racial Trauma Leading To Ptsd: A Review Of Systemic Physiological And Neurobehavioral Alterations, Alexis Verwoert

PCOM Capstone Projects

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychiatric disease that often follows acute or chronic exposure to extreme stress. Hallmarks of this disorder include stressors, intrusion symptoms, avoidance, negative alterations in cognition and mood, and alterations in arousal and reactivity (Bovin, 2015). Since it was first defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III (DSM-III), the diagnostic criteria for PTSD have evolved to encompass stressors as they may occur repeatedly across the lifespan (Bovin, 2015). Physiological and behavioral consequences of this extreme stress manifest themselves as systemic alterations in form and function. As is true of many diagnosable …

Traumatic Brain Injury (Tbi): The Progressive Neurodegeneration And Mental Health Decline In United States Veterans, Andrew R. Wiener

PCOM Capstone Projects

Since the year 2000, the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center reported 414,000 documented cases of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) among individuals serving in the United States Armed Forces (Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, 2020). Traumatic events to the head as a result from car accidents, falls, explosions, and gunshot wounds can lead to a disruption of normal cognitive functioning. Roughly 80% of diagnosed TBIs are mild in nature, commonly referred to as concussions, and can range from mild, moderate, severe, and penetrating (O’Neil et al., 2013). However due to the difficulty of diagnosing a TBI most cases go …

Is Sexuality A Choice? An Analysis Of The Facts And Factors That Influence One’S Sexual Orientation, Brandon Scott Hodges

PCOM Capstone Projects

Sexual orientation is often viewed as the sex or gender to which one is attracted to; however, it is not that simple. Also, though many believe the default is for one to be attracted to the opposite sex and any other claim of sexual attraction is a choice; that is not true. Sexual orientation is the result of a complex combination of one’s genes, environment, and hormones. As a result, not only is sexuality not a choice, but just as there are so many different colors, there are so many different sexual orientations beyond heterosexual, such as homosexual, bisexual, and …